March 3, 2023

Neighbors, 

That’s a wrap! On February 25, the General Assembly adjourned sine die, ending the regular legislative session for 2023. Thank you to all of my constituents who reached out to share your priorities for our community. From emails to phone calls to visits to Richmond, I appreciate your engagement - Our democracy is strengthened when each of us takes personal steps to hold our government accountable.

As a reminder, this session is the last regular session of the General Assembly before the new, redistricted lines take effect next January. Every 10 years, Congressional and state legislature district lines are redrawn given updated population data from the Census. 

As I announced in October, I will be running for re-election in the new 18th House District. I currently represent about 50 percent of this district, which includes parts of Lorton and West, Central and North Springfield. I hope to be able to continue being a voice for you in the House of Delegates and look forward to meeting neighbors in the new part of the district..

You can see which new district you reside in on the General Assembly’s website. Just input your address, click “find now,” and then “**NEW IN 2024.” If you are interested to see who is running for the House of Delegates or state Senate in your new district, I encourage you to check out Virginia Public Access Project’s website.

In this newsletter, I’ve included information about the following:

  • Town Halls

  • Community Updates

    • Community Meetings

    • Afghan Refugee Youth

    • House Page Program

  • Legislative Updates

    • My Legislative Update

    • Budget Update

    • Reconvened Session

As always, let me know if you have questions or need assistance by calling my office at (804) 698-1042 or emailing me at DelKTran@house.virginia.gov. 

Best, Kathy

Kathy KL Tran

Delegate


Town Halls

It is very important to me that I hear directly from you throughout the legislative process and am able to provide you with timely updates about my work in the House of Delegates and our state government. 

Since December 2022, I have hosted or participated in nine town halls - Thank you to everyone who participated!

Most recently, I held my annual town hall with the Virginia Department of Transportation and Fairfax County Department of Transportation on road projects and winter weather. We received updates about Old Colchester Road Bridge, Richmond Highway Widening and BRT, Rolling Road Widening, Lee Chapel Road safety measures and preparing for winter weather. 

We will share information about upcoming town halls through this newsletter and on social media – I look forward to seeing you at the next one!

Community Updates

Community Meetings

Thanks to the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers members who came to visit me in Richmond, including my constituent Emily! Educators are the backbone of our schools, and I am proud to support them.

It was so wonderful meeting with families and advocates with Edu-Futuro. We talked about the importance of strong education and how to support New Americans. Thank you for coming to visit!

Afghan Refugee Youth

I was delighted to host Afghan refugee youth who have made a new home in Virginia through the assistance of NoVA RAFT and Fresh Start Refugee Assistance Center. Virginia has played a crucial role in resettling refugees as part of the Biden Administration's Operation Allies Welcome. Since August 2021, over 8,000 Afghan refugees have been resettled in our Commonwealth after fleeing the Taliban. 

NoVA RAFT, which was started by several constituents, is an all-volunteer coalition that has provided nearly $1.5 million in aid to Afghan families and set up 300 newly furnished homes. It provides ongoing support to help refugees rebuild their lives and successfully  integrate into our community. Earlier this year, I shared with you that I presented NoVA RAFT co-founders Dan Altman and Natalie Perdue with a commendation from the General Assembly for the coalition’s efforts.

As a former refugee, it was very meaningful to me to visit with these Afghan youth. After experiencing terror and chaos and leaving their homes and everything familiar to them, they are restarting their lives in a new country with new customs in a new language — and still they remain hopeful and forward looking. What an inspiring group of young people!

House Page Program

One of my favorite new traditions is when the Virginia Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus (VAAPIC) visits the House Pages. We talked about VAAPIC’s work to lift up the priorities of AAPI Virginians and our experiences serving in the House of Delegates. And we shared lots of lots of snacks, which are always a lot of fun.

Each year, House Pages organize a mock legislative session. I am so proud of my constituent, Naomi, for representing our community as the Head Page, and for presenting her bill aimed at reducing pollution. 

The House Page Program provides an immersive educational opportunity to experience for 13 and 14 year olds to learn how the Virginia General Assembly operates while the legislature is in session. You can find more information about it on the General Assembly’s website.

Legislative Updates

This year, 1,906 bills were introduced in the House of Delegates and state Senate, and 819 bills passed the General Assembly. The Governor is now considering each piece of legislation, and he will either sign it into law, propose an amendment to the bill, or veto the legislation.

My Legislative Agenda

I am so pleased that my House Bill 2211 passed unanimously from both the House of Delegates and the state Senate. The bill will help clarify the process by which internationally trained nurses are tested and certified for work in Virginia, which will help fill our critical nursing workforce needs while tapping into the skills of immigrants and refugees. The bill is now before the Governor for his signature. Thank you to Church World Services, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, Inova, HCA Hospitals, and Virginia Health Care Association for their support.

Thank you to my constituents Traci and Edie, surviving military spouses, and the Military Officers Association of America for their advocacy to bring equitable tax relief to the surviving spouses of our service members who died in the line of duty. We worked together in 2022 to pass legislation giving local governments the option to provide the ability to give tax relief to surviving spouses, and Fairfax County adopted this policy in January.

This year, we worked together to begin the first step to bring this parity into the Virginia Constitution, like other tax relief. However, as I have mentioned in a past newsletter, the Speaker of the House made the unusual decision not to debate, vote, or even hear in committee any constitutional amendments introduced in the House of Delegates. Instead, he only allowed for consideration of constitutional amendments introduced in the state Senate. 

As such, my House Joint Resolution 533, which would give voters the choice to amend the Constitution of Virginia to provide surviving spouses of service members who were killed in the line of duty with equitable tax relief, was not debated or voted on in the House. Thankfully, I worked with Senator Jeremy McPike on Senate Joint Resolution 231, which is exactly the same as my resolution and which passed the state Senate and the House of Delegates unanimously.

Budget Update

As I mentioned previously, last year, the General Assembly passed the biennial budget, which sets Virginia’s budget until 2024. We now have a $4.5 billion surplus and have been debating how to update our budget to allocate this additional revenue. 

In December,  the Governor introduced his budget, and in February, the House of Delegates and the state Senate released their own proposals. At this time, the House of Delegates and state Senate have not come to an agreement for a proposed budget. 

As such, the General Assembly passed a “skinny budget” for the interim. Taking this step allows us to immediately fill a school funding shortfall caused by an accounting error at the Virginia Department of Education. As you may recall, I have mentioned this error would have cost school districts across the Commonwealth over $200 million, including more than $18 million in Fairfax alone, if it was not addressed. We also added funds to Virginia’s revenue stabilization fund, ongoing state construction projects, and the Virginia Retirement System trust fund.

The budget negotiators are working to reach an agreement on how to allocate the surplus. We have until June 30th, the end of the fiscal year, to pass an updated, balanced budget. 

In the meanwhile, you can read my summary of key differences in the House and state Senate proposals in my past newsletter here, and you can check out The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis’s comprehensive breakdown of the proposed budgets.

Reconvened Session

The General Assembly will reconvene on April 12 to consider any vetoes or amendments to bills proposed by the Governor. As the Governor makes decisions about legislation passed during the regular session, you can track the list of vetoed, amended, and approved legislation on the Legislative Information Systems (LIS) website.